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Pathways to CEO

This Month

AFR, Samantha Santos, who works at Deloitte in Adelaide. Story about Gen Z not wanting to become bosses in organisations. Pic Roy VanDerVegt   11th June 2025 

Why Gen Z is ‘unbossing’ and what CEOs can do about it

Gen Z employees are 1.7 times more likely than older generations to avoid leadership roles, not out of lack of interest but to protect their mental health, research shows.

Here’s what a top-50 CEO looks like

The chief executives of the country’s biggest companies are getting younger and the chances of them being female are rising.

From number-cruncher to CEO: This boss’ unexpected path to the top

Lou Oppenheim has risen to the top of Sydney Dance Company, but every day she still wants to know what the numbers reveal about how the company is performing.

May

Executive coach Sue Rosen works with CFOs, particularly those looking to make the move to CEO.

Bill Gates swears by it. What you can do to become a top CEO

Sure it takes skill, drive and passion to get to the pinnacle. But is coaching the secret sauce behind some of Australia’s best-known leaders?

January

Richard White, WiseTech Global’s founder, with chairman Richard Dammery.

WiseTech rolls into a new year like nothing happened

Don’t discount how important culture is to a company whose value is in its people and products, not hard assets in the ground.

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December 2024

CEO of the Central Coast Marriners, Alyssar Narey.

This woman made history when she took over her local A-League club

Alyssar Narey, one of just two women to run a football club in Australia, lays bare the reality of the family juggle, women in sport and the one thing she can’t survive without.

February 2024

Michelle Gass

CEO succession needs a shake-up

It’s the most important job corporate boards have, and all too often they fail miserably.

November 2023

Francis deSouza told analysts the drama was only affecting “a very small part of the company”. He resigned two months later.

Investors use AI to find out what executives really think

Funds already use algorithms to trawl through earnings calls transcripts to glean signals from executives’ choice of words. Now they are trying to find further messages.

April 2023

Susan van der Merwe is one of the few female CEOs leading ASX200 companies.

Where are the women? Directors pressed to boost female CEOs

Gender diversity around the board table is being held back by the dearth of female chief executives, prompting calls for directors to ensure more women rise to the top.

January 2022

ANZ readying for change at the top in 2022

ANZ chairman Paul O’Sullivan may decide later this year who will receive the leadership baton from Shayne Elliott, who has set the bank up for success.

November 2021

Catherine Anderson’s CCO skills prepared her well for a stint as acting chief executive.

Why chief customer officers are next in line for the CEO job

Tech-savvy executives trained to hit revenue targets and keep customers happy are emerging as the top candidates to fill CEO vacancies.

September 2021

Melbourne boy, Collingwood supporter and Morgan Stanley CEO James Gorman pictured in his 40th-floor New York office overlooking Times Square.

The odd quirks that make CEOs tick

One of the enduring legacies of AFR BOSS has been to delve into the personal lives of CEOs to better understand the people behind the business and the strategies.

June 2021

Television presenter David Koch, wearing glasses, and son AJ Koch with his sisters Georgie and Brie at a basketball game in 2017.

There’s nothing like a CEO humblebragger

The head of the ABS and David Koch’s son are among those who deflect credit for altruism while drawing attention to it.

Meredith Hellicar, executive chairman of Merryck in Australia and New Zealand, says CEOs need to be prepared to make decisions without all the information to hand.

Nine strategies for CEO success

BOSS asks four of the country’s top executive coaches and advisers, who work behind the scenes for ASX 100 leaders, their top tips for attaining success.

February 2021

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Revealed: how the pandemic changed the face of Australia’s CEOs

Of the CEOs appointed to ASX 200 companies last year, 71 per cent were internal appointments, up from 50 per cent in 2019.

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November 2020

Experts say the turmoil caused by the coronavirus crisis is the perfect training for those wanting to climb the corporate ladder.

Four things HR looks for when promoting leaders

Eager to climb the career ladder? HR bosses share the four things they look for in potential leaders.

October 2020

Woolworths and AGL director Diane Smith-Gander says succession planning is a "black art".

Inside the art of succession planning

The new focus on company culture, sudden CEO departures and major external shocks have highlighted the importance of grooming future leaders.

April 2020

Many Ross, chief digital officer at Griffith University, says technology executives are well equipped to deal with the COVID-19 crisis.

The path to CEO is with a CV in technology

The COVID-19 outbreak has put technology at the core of companies' efforts to keep operating, rather than just being a means for innovation and cost-cutting.

October 2019

Andrew Mackenzie is a geoscientist with a specialty in petroleum research.

You've got to understand rocks if you want to run BHP

BHP chief executive Andrew Mackenzie believes his successor must have a detailed understanding of minerals and geology.

September 2019

Chief Executive Women president Sue Morphett, said that one of the problems facing women was that companies tended to promote people with longevity of service to senior positions.

ASX 200 firms leaving women out of top roles

Only two of the 25 chief executives appointed to an ASX 200 company over the past 12 months were female – and one of them was to a New Zealand company.

Original URL: https://www.afr.com/topic/pathways-to-ceo-1n0w